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American Morning

Dam in Danger; Leak Investigation; Vitale Death Mystery

Aired October 18, 2005 - 08:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A developing story now in Massachusetts. That is the ruptured dam near the city of Taunton, Massachusetts. Water is rushing through it, as you can see. Water is rushing under it. We're live in the city, where they are now preparing for the very worst.
Tropical Storm Wilma getting a burst of strength, not finished by a long shot. This one could become an intense hurricane. And pretty soon we've got a look at the forecast straight ahead.

And then getting ready for flu season, a time of great fear and confusion. We're going to tell you everything you need to know about vaccines and the bird flu, too, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: Mother and child. Welcome back, everybody. Mother and child, a shot there from right outside of Central Park.

But, you know, can we take that shot again of the live pictures of the dam in Taunton, Massachusetts? No, not the...

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's that.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the calm. And let's show folks what's happening in Taunton, Massachusetts. Do we have those pictures?

Yes. You can see the water rushing right through that more than 100-year-old dam that's made of wood, and is really looking very precarious right now.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, Governor Mitt Romney was on just a little while ago, and he was talking about how it has been maintained. Every couple of years they give it a thorough going over. But, you know, just a 100-year-old wooden dam makes you think, well, I wonder if those kinds of things should be looked at more holistically.

Perhaps a complete replacement might be in order for some of these sort of things. And certainly we're learning the hard way right now what the limitations are.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Let's get right to Dan Lothian. He's live for us in Taunton this morning with the very latest on this story.

Hey, Dan. Good morning.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, obviously a lot of concern here from not only city officials, but emergency management officials. Take a look at some of the latest pictures we're getting in now of that dam.

I just talked to a city official who gave me the following updated information. First of all, he told me that the water level in the lake feeding into the river has dropped by a few inches. So they believe that's good news there as well.

I'm also told by that city official that that secondary bridge that there was so much -- rather, dam, that there was so much concern about that it could give way if the first one breaks, causing catastrophic problems, I'm told now that the engineers in daylight have had a chance to look at that secondary dam and they believe that it will hold if the first dam gives.

Also, I'm told that the engineers are back out at that wooden bridge at this hour, inspecting it in daylight. And they hope to within the next few minutes or so give us updated information as to the integrity of that dam.

Now, obviously, as I mentioned, a lot of concern here. Some 2,000 people have been strongly advised to evacuate. In fact, this morning officials were going door to door telling folks about the potential danger, that they should get out.

Governor Mitt Romney, who has been criticized over the past few weeks over his slow response -- that was a criticism, slow response to other catastrophic situations in western Massachusetts -- has responded quickly to this one. He was here meeting with emergency management officials, getting an update on the situation. And he says there's not only cause for concern with this particular dam, but many others across the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: The fact that you have 3,000 privately-owned dams across the commonwealth raises a certain degree of concern, as we were discussing this morning. There was a report done that looked at some of these dams. They were categorized in different groupings.

Those that were considered high hazard were those which if there were a significant failure could lead to the loss of life or loss of a significant amount of property. This is one of those dams. They're to be inspected every two years. This dam was inspected apparently on a timely basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: The big concern, obviously, is if that wooden dam gives way, that it could send as much as six feet of water into a development that has about 100 or so homes. And then the water could come into the area where we are at now, which is in the downtown area. So that's why officials have evacuated everyone. Obviously in this area, a lot of reporters here. But other people have been strongly advised to get out of this area.

All of the schools have been closed, and the downtown area obviously closed as well. Officials saying that in light of what has happened in other cities in the last few months in terms of the disasters, they don't want to take any chances -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. CNN's Dan Lothian.

Dramatic pictures here. I just keep watching it...

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, aren't they? Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: ... wondering what's going to happen.

S. O'BRIEN: And you wonder if any of the pressure is being relieved by some of the water rushing through already.

M. O'BRIEN: You would hope, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Is that a bad thing that we're seeing or a good thing? Is it sort of staving off, to some degree, the pressure, or is it just the beginning of the end of this dam as it begins to wear away?

M. O'BRIEN: Well, and how much capability do they have really to control things, given the fact that it is, you know, pulling timbers out is how you kind of handle the flow?

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: So I don't know that they really have the capability of changing what you see unfold before us here.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. We're going to keep watching it obviously as the story develops this morning.

Let's turn to southern California now. Have you seen this pictures? A massive, massive mudslide roared through this neighborhood in Burbank.

This is Burbank on Monday. As you know, they've been getting lots of rain there. Chad's been telling us about that.

Now, the residents said that it was like a river of mud. And you can really see it there. It came through like a freight train, by some descriptions.

Police say nobody was hurt, no homes, in fact, were even damaged. But you can see in some of the shots here cars that got caught in the way. Obviously got pretty beat up by this river.

Look how fast that thing's moving. That's a road.

M. O'BRIEN: I think about the tsunami when I see that. You know? It reminds me on a much smaller scale of what we saw.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. They always talk about the force of water. You know?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: They will always say water is so much more dangerous than the wind.

M. O'BRIEN: Boy, we've learned that in many times this past year.

S. O'BRIEN: We see it right there.

M. O'BRIEN: And speaking of that, hurricane-to-be, soon, Wilma, we think. We keep hearing about this cone of uncertainty.

Chad Myers we don't think of as an uncertain fellow. As a matter of fact, Wilma looks like -- Wilma looks like it's going to do like one of my drives, which is to go -- slice right.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Are you a big slicer?

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, big time.

MYERS: Yes. OK.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Political storm we're on to now. There's one brewing in Washington. Actually, it's picking up steam, we think. And we're talking, of course, about that CIA leak investigation. There's word the special prosecutor is focusing on Vice President Cheney and his key aides.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken live once again for us in Washington with more on that.

Bob, good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

And the word is in the form of indications, evidence. And the evidence is analyzed by people who know about these things, and they bring up some significant possibilities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice over): While much of the focus, the public focus, is centered on the CIA's leaks investigation and to top presidential aide Karl Rove and top vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, there are indications the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, is not neglecting their bosses, particularly Libby's boss.

Judith Miller, who testified after spending 85 days in jail, wrote in her long-awaited "New York Times" article Sunday, "Mr. Fitzgerald asked whether Mr. Cheney had known what his chief aide was doing and saying. The answer was, 'No.'" "But," she continued, "my interview notes showed that Mr. Libby sought from the beginning to insulate his boss."

Legal experts believe the pattern of investigation suggests that among the charges the grand jury is considering are alleged violations of the conspiracy statute, only that a person's action, legal or otherwise, caused a crime to be committed. It reads in part, "If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense against the United States, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each can be in violation."

In other words, a violator would not necessarily have to commit a crime. Put another way, insulating someone would not necessarily be enough in this investigation into the public disclosure of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. Plame is the wife of administration critic Joseph Wilson.

As for the vice president's chief of staff, Miller's attorney believes Libby is in a delicate legal condition.

ROBERT BENNETT, JUDITH MILLER'S ATTORNEY: Obviously, he discussed with Judy Mr. Wilson and Mr. Wilson's wife. If he told the grand jury that he didn't do that, then I think there's an issue there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And the grand jury would normally meet on Wednesdays. And we have every indication, Miles, that the special prosecutor and grand jury are sorting through all these issues right now.

M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken. Thank you very much. Please keep us posted -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's turn back to northern California this morning, the case of who killed Pamela Vitale and why. A famous criminal attorney for a husband and his feud with a neighbor, and construction workers who were going freely in and out of the home.

Thelma Gutierrez is live for us in the Contra Costa County sheriff's office in Martinez, California, which is just outside of San Francisco.

Thelma, good morning.

The police have described it as a wide open case. Is that still the case?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, it still is a wide open case. Homicide investigators say they still have a number of people to talk to. And the defense attorney who made a name for himself by talking about murder cases on television now tragically is at the center of a high-profile murder case himself.

Autopsy results released yesterday confirmed that 52-year-old Pamela Vitale, wife of attorney Daniel Horowitz, died as a result of a blunt force trauma to the head. Horowitz, a television legal analyst, told police he discovered his wife's body on Saturday evening at the entryway of the mobile home when he returned home after working all day.

The couple had been living temporarily in the mobile home while their 7,000 square foot mansion was under construction, high atop a mountain outside of Oakland.

Now, investigators say one of the many people that they have talked to is a tenant who lived on the couple's property by the name of Joseph Lynch. Four months ago, the couple had petitioned for a temporary restraining order against Lynch, saying that he had been threatening.

Now, Lynch was never served, and Horowitz said that he believed that he might -- that that might inflame matters. He also said that he believed that the problems that he had with Lynch were being resolved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN GOLDE, CO-COUNSEL WITH HOROWITZ: Mr. Horowitz showed kindness to Mr. Lynch. Mr. Lynch was a troublemaker. Mr. Horowitz had trouble with Mr. Lynch.

That restraining order was written up. It was never served, never filed. He could be a suspect. Again, I can't comment specifically. There were some threats to Pamela, some threats to Mr. Horowitz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Now, sheriff's investigators say they have no suspects at the moment, and they have said that Lynch has been very cooperative. CNN talked with Lynch yesterday. He said any allegations tying him to the murder absolutely ridiculous, and that he and Pamela Vitale were friends, and that she was a sweet and kind person.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thelma Gutierrez for us this morning in Martinez.

Thanks, Thelma.

Turning overseas now, just as voting in Iraq wraps up, even though there are some questions there, the focus now, though, is on Saddam Hussein's trial, which is just getting under way.

Carol's got a look at that and some of the other stories this morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do. Good morning.

In Iraq, the first trial against that ousted leader, Saddam Hussein, and seven of his former officials officially begins tomorrow. Saddam is due to face charges for the 1982 killings of nearly 150 people. It's expected to be one of about a dozen trials against him.

In the meantime, some unusually high members of votes at this weekend's referendum on Iraq's new constitution. Monitors now looking into it so they can certify the results.

President Bush is giving FEMA a makeover. The president is getting ready to sign a $32 spending bill for homeland security. Part of the measure streamlines the duties designated to FEMA so the agency can focus on reacting to big storms like Hurricane Katrina.

And we could soon know more about the views of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. She's set to turn in her Supreme Court questionnaire today to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The 12-page questionnaire reportedly also asked Miers about her connection to President Bush.

The committee could announce soon exactly when Miers' confirmation hearings will start. They're slated right now for next month.

And the homerun that may have changed the World Series. Albert Pujols' three-run homer with two outs in the top of the 9th inning giving St. Louis a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros. Game six of the National League playoffs set for tomorrow in St. Louis. Houston leads three games to two. The winner plays, of course, the White Sox in game one of the World Series, which will take place on Saturday.

And Brad Lidge, who was the relief pitcher -- who's a really good one. So it was a surprise that he threw a bad ball.

S. O'BRIEN: Usually a really good one.

M. O'BRIEN: He'd like to pull that one back.

COSTELLO: He would. He says it hurts, but it's not devastating.

M. O'BRIEN: Not yet.

S. O'BRIEN: Until we see what happens. Then it might be.

COSTELLO: Well, no, I mean, you know, he feels bad about it, but he's not going to let it -- because, you know, they could still make the World Series. And he's going to have to pitch some relief work there, too.

S. O'BRIEN: And if they don't, he's going to be devastated.

M. O'BRIEN: He's...

COSTELLO: That's right.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: We'll wait to see about that, Carol. Thanks. COSTELLO: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, Wilma tying the record for the most named storms in a hurricane season. Why so many storms? Why so many severe storms? How many more might we see? We'll talk about that in a moment.

S. O'BRIEN: And then with the start of flu season, concerns about the flu shot and whether everyone who wants one is going to get one. We'll take a look at that just ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Tropical Storm Wilma on its way to becoming Hurricane Wilma, on its way possibly to south Florida, the 21st named storm that ties the record from 1933. More severe storms out there. Why?

Well, there are lots of ways of answering that question. And we have an expert who knows a little bit about these things. Actually, knows a lot about these things.

Marshall Shepherd is a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Marshall, good to have you back with us.

J. MARSHALL SHEPHERD, NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER: Thank you, Miles. Good to be here.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about how this season has stacked up against other seasons.

SHEPHERD: Well, I tell you it's been a barn burner oversees. And for us that study these things, we have plenty of material to look back on in the coming years. But this certainly, as you know, has tied the record for the most active hurricane season in terms of named storms in the Atlantic Basin.

You have to go back to the 1930s to see this type of activity. Previous to this year, 1995 was the sort of pacesetter for the modern era. But here in 2005, we've seen an amazing number of storms. And particularly, Miles, the number of major hurricanes, the number of major storms has been particularly impressive.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, tell us why.

SHEPHERD: One of the things that we've seen this year, Miles, is really warm sea surface temperatures. If you look at the Gulf of Mexico and if you look at the eastern Caribbean and western Caribbean, here you see sea surface temperature from one of our satellites, the aqua satellite, and you saw that there were very warm sea surface temperatures.

This allows storms to develop and become really efficient heat engines. You're looking at a CAT scan from one of our satellites. We can actually peer under the hood and look inside these storms. And all of that warm water from the ocean, these storms are efficiently converting that to energy. And we're seeing these monstrous storms.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, sort of give us a sense of how these storms are constructed. What makes them different?

SHEPHERD: Absolutely. Well, hurricanes are really big heat engines, and warm sea surface temperature ocean waters are the fuel supply. And as you see in this animation, these storms convert that ocean water into energy, and that energy is released.

You see there those orange speckles representing energy. And that energy release in the clouds, around the eye wall, trigger a feedback that actually causes these storms under the right conditions to intensify more. So what we've seen is a perfect condition where the upper level conditions have been adequate. And we've got plenty of warm ocean water.

So we really have perfect conditions for these things to develop.

M. O'BRIEN: Boy, it looks rather ominous seeing it in that animation there. Let's talk about the ocean temperatures. We've seen -- we know the ocean temperatures are greater. You just -- we have imperical proof of that.

SHEPHERD: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Making the connection to climate change, to global warming, is a difficult thing, because scientists always have a certain degree of doubt. How much doubt do you have left that climate change in one way or another is impacting this?

SHEPHERD: Well, I still have a little doubt. It's not really doubt, Miles. Where I am is I think we need to step back and take a look at this season within the context of how much any type of climate change activities are a factor, versus the natural decadal cycle.

As you may know, there is a multi-decadal cycle where we see an active phase of hurricanes every 20 or 30 years ago. And we probably entered that in 1995. Over the last 150 years or so, the Earth has warmed by half a degree or so, and we have seen temperatures in the ocean running anywhere from one to two degrees warmer.

So I'm of the opinion it's a bit too early to make that link conclusively. But as you were seeing there, we now have modeling capabilities that we can model atmospheric processes globally, including hurricanes. So I think we'll be using those techniques and capabilities to sort of answer those questions.

But I think it's a bit too early to conclusively nail it down to climate change. But it's certainly worth looking at.

M. O'BRIEN: Marshall, you have so many great tools there, so many great computers. We still can't model the global climate, the global weather, can we? That's a big job. SHEPHERD: It's a huge job, Miles. But that's really the approach that we're taking at NASA. We're trying to model the Earth as a system, and we're modeling weather, climate, ocean processes. And we're approaching, Miles, the ability to model a full Earth system as our computing capabilities and our satellite technology increases.

We have 19 satellites up right now, Miles, from a NASA perspective studying different parts of the Earth. And when we piece all of that data together, it gives us that input of the ingredients you need to complete the recipe which is trying to represent the Earth's system, including hurricane processes.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, sometimes when you go to space, the most interesting planet is us.

SHEPHERD: Absolutely. We still explore Earth just like other planets here at NASA.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Marshall Shepherd is a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, just outside of D.C.

Always a pleasure having you drop by.

SHEPHERD: Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: When we come back in just a moment, flu season, it's here. So are there enough shots to go around? Do you really need one? We'll tell you up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it happens every single year. And once again, flu season is upon us. So are we better prepared than we were last year?

Let's talk about that with Dr. Pamela Peeke. She's the author of the book "Body for Life for Women."

Nice to see you again.

DR. PAMELA PEEKE, "BODY FOR LIFE FOR WOMEN": Hello there, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, last year, as you well recall, there were the lines, there was -- panic might be too strong to use, but very grave concern that people weren't going to be able to get a flu shot.

Are we going see the same thing this year?

PEEKE: You know, no. The good news is the CDC and the FDA have said we've got plenty of doses, over 70 million doses. So this is going to be great. And even with the corporation, Chiron is kicking back in, even though they're not going to be making quite as many doses, as we noted earlier. However, we're going to have plenty for everybody.

S. O'BRIEN: So the cry that we had last year is going to not happen?

PEEKE: Yes. Better prepared, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, that's -- yes, it's good news.

Let's talk a little bit about -- I know we do this every year, but I think it's worth repeating. Who should get a flu shot? You've said highest risk, adults over 65. And then young children. Who are we talking about?

PEEKE: Well, you know, you're really talking about children six months to 23 months. But, you know, there's a new study out by the Children's Medical Center in Boston, and what they've really said is that pre-schoolers should probably also be vaccinated.

We're not -- you know, this is a first study. We need to have the CDC and the FDA weigh in on this. But after all, they're the ones who carry this. And so it's sort of common sensical. Let's see what the next steps are.

S. O'BRIEN: And their hygiene is less than good.

PEEKE: Do you think?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. No, I know. I actually know that to be the case.

Also, in all seriousness, chronic illness...

PEEKE: Oh, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... pregnant women, and people who are...

PEEKE: And people like me...

S. O'BRIEN: ... doctors.

PEEKE: ... health care. You know, health care workers. But also, people like police and others who are in constant contact with people who are sick and need help and may be infirm.

S. O'BRIEN: Those are people who should get the flu shot right now?

PEEKE: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Should everybody -- I mean, if there's enough to go around, should just absolutely everybody get the flu shot?

PEEKE: Well, as of next week, anyone can get it if they want to. Right now, the first priority were all these people. But as of next week, we can actually go out there and get it if we're really worried about it ourselves.

You know, we really -- I think there's a lot of concern now. People are thinking about the word "flu" a lot more than they ever did before.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, because we've been talking a lot about the bird flu.

PEEKE: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Totally different strain, obviously.

PEEKE: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I mean, a whole different story, to some degree. Are people who are susceptible to the flu mores susceptible to bird flu?

PEEKE: Absolutely. You know, of course, by definition. But again, you know, we -- all we know about the bird flu right now is the fact that there can be this transmission from bird to human, no question about that.

Most of these people were actually pretty healthy people. So, you know, we really don't have a lot database on what happens. It would just obviously be a common sensical assumption that those people are most vulnerable for one virus, they're vulnerable to the other.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of top five ways not to get the flue this year, whether you get the shot or not.

PEEKE: OK. Look, avoid sick people. Duh. These are the obvious.

The next thing is, if you are sick, stay away from everybody.

If you want to really prevent it, how about tissue? Take it with you everywhere. You see somebody coughing without tissue? Hand it to them.

You know, wash your hands. It's simple hygiene, straightforward.

And again, take good care of yourself, too, if you want to prevent it. You know, those people who are most fit and healthy are the people less likely to pick things like this.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I know, and they come in the office and they cough.

PEEKE: Yes, all over you. And hey, the telephone, remember?

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.

PEEKE: Wipe that little baby off. S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, now they make that -- you know, that stuff.

PEEKE: Those little alcohol things.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Get rid of the whole...

PEEKE: Absolutely. Make it happen.

S. O'BRIEN: ... all those germs.

Pamela Peeke, nice to see you, as always.

PEEKE: Great to see you.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

She, of course, is the author of "Body for Life for Women" -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks very much.

Still ahead, the trial of Saddam Hussein set to begin tomorrow. What can we expect? What is his defense? Live in Baghdad just ahead.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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